Some Christmas Specials seem to last forever. “A Charlie Brown Christmas” has aired very year since the early 1960s. “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is another one that has been on for as long as I’ve been alive, and will probably be on every Christmas until well after I’m dead.

Then there are other Christmas Specials. Specials that, if you’re a child of the 80s, you probably watched more than once, but that haven’t lived on into the immortal status. They aired annually for a few years, but these shows will never be the holiday mainstays that they were intended to be…but that doesn’t make them any less great.

Thanks to the magic of YouTube, however, we can remember these shows…

5. A Garfield Christmas

The Garfield Christmas Special was one of my favorites as a kid, and is available on a really cheaply produced DVD that includes his Thanksgiving and Halloween specials as well. Even though the special doesn’t air annually anymore, and the DVD looks like a VHS copy, I’m glad I share this one with my kids.

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Season 2, Episode 7 - “Cougars”

30 Rock continues to be one of my favorite shows on television. In this episode 37 year old Liz dates 20 year old coffee boy, Jamie. Of course, he says he’s 25, and she says she’s 29 - so if you go by their made-up ages, it’s not that bad.

The two subplots of the episode were as bizarre as they’ve ever been in this episode, with Jack taking over a underprivileged baseball team from Tracy in an obvious (and hilarious) series of jabs at the Iraq war. Which come to a head with Jack standing over a new baseball field dressed as a General, while he stares at a very familiar looking banner that reads “Fun Accomplished.”

The second subplot of the night revolved around Frank being gay for coffee boy Jamie. Not completely gay, just gay for this one guy. It was funny, awkward, and slightly uncomfortable at times as Frank did his best to put the moves on Jamie - who just wasn’t interested.

The end of Liz and Jamie’s relationship was also pretty darn funny, with Liz meeting his mother, and finding out that they look exactly the same.

There were so many other funny bits in this episode, from Kenneth’s “homeade country gum” to Jenna’s 14-year old boyfriend, that it’s hard to recap it all. This episode is 30 Rock at its best, and well worth checking out.

Grade: A

In a move that should probably serve as an example to everyone involved with the Writer’s Strike, Comedy Central and “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have reached a deal that will see every single episode of their constantly controversial show become available online.

Viewers will be able to watch the shows at no cost according to TV Squad, and they haven’t officially said the episodes will be ad supported - it seems pretty obvious that they will be.

No official word yet on when they’ll be online, but it should be soon.

After 4 days of deliberation and a total media black out, the WGA quickly rejected the latest offer from the studios, calling it a “massive rollback”.

An example of the problems with the new offer include that it only includes a lump sum of $250 for a year’s run of an episode online, where a single network rerun of a show includes over $20,000 payable dollars.

That’s a pretty big difference, and once television goes on demand, that would really lower a Writer’s annual salary.

I will have to say this, though - I think everyone from writer’s all the way up the food chain, are going to have to understand that royalties are going to have to change. When the delivery method changes as drastically as it is going to, the royalty options are going to have to change as well. Maybe a CPM basis is necessary here. I’m not sure.

Talks will resume next week - but strap in folks, it looks like this is going to take a while.

The TV Zone reports that CBS has decided to drop the Democratic Debate that was scheduled for December 10th. The reason for the cancellation is blamed on the Writer’s Strike and fear that they will form picket lines around the event that Democrats will not cross.

“CBS News regrets not being able to offer the Democratic presidential debate scheduled for Dec. 10 in Los Angeles. The possibility of picket lines set up by the Writers Guild of America and the unwillingness of many candidates to cross them made it necessary to allow the candidates to make other plans.”

The Writer’s Guide responded by saying “The Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West regret that the Democratic National Committee has had to cancel the December 10th Presidential Debate hosted by CBS. This was triggered by CBS’ fear that the Democratic candidates would not cross a picket line by WGA-CBS News writers or WGA Film and TV writers to participate in the debate – a concern that could have been avoided entirely if CBS would simply sit down and negotiate a fair contract for its news and entertainment employees. Instead, CBS chose to make a decision that stifles the democratic process.”

While I’m not really sure we need another Debate where all of these primary candidates can stand around avoiding giving real answers to questions (and I think the Republicans do the same thing - so don’t start a red vs. blue debate here, please), it is a shame (in my opinion) that the WGA is flexing muscle by blocking events that Writer’s wouldn’t even be involved with.

…in a manner of speaking.

While it would be cool to see a big screen chapter of Lost don’t expect it soon. What you can look forward to if you’re planning to venture into theaters in the next few months are promos for the upcoming abbreviated season of ABC’s hit show.

Starting in December, all movies rated PG and above in theaters using Screenvision and NCM advertising will run promos for Lost before the feature, with brand new footage. If you don’t feel like dropping $10+ to see the commercials, I’m sure they’ll appear on the internets somewhere soon after.

My daughter is REALLY into the Power Rangers these days. I’m amazed that the show is in its 16th year…but it is. The latest incarnation of the series is called “Power Rangers: Jungle Fury” and it will begin running on JETIX in Feb. 2008.

For those that are interested…this is what it will look like…

Just a quick note…if you’re still using the archaic VCR to record your favorite shows, or if you plan to tune in live, be warned…Pushing Daisies has been pushed back an hour tonight. Normally running at 8/7c, television’s best new show will now be airing at 9/8c, and ABC will run Shrek the Halls and How the Grinch Stole Christmas in Daisies previous slot.

Adjust your viewing schedule accordingly.

According to TV Week, Carson Daly is going to be first late night talk show to defy the Writer’s Strike and head back into production.

I doubt his show could get any less funny, so I don’t think it will be a big change. What this could mean, however, is that the other late night shows will be forced to come back as well, to stay competitive.

We’ll see.

If you’re a fan of Shrek, or your kids are fans of the big green galoot, then you’ll probably want to fire up the DVR and tune into ABC tonight at 8:00pm EST. That’s when “Shrek the Halls” will premiere.

The Shrek filled Christmas Special reunites the entire cast of the insanely popular Shrek movie franchise, in a holiday special that the producers hope will become an annual tradition like A Charlie Brown Christmas. The special takes place after Shrek the Third, and all poor Shrek wants is a quite Christmas with his family…but then Donkey, Puss in Boots, Gingy, and all the rest end up making his Christmas completely unforgettable.

I sincerely hope this special is another classic to add to the holiday mix. We’ll just have to wait and see…